By BULLS MANThe Casino RSM Bulls hopes of making it three wins in a row were dashed by Lennox Head on the weekend. The reigning premiers taught the Bulls a tough rugby lesson as the Bulls were defeated 45-14. The Casino forwards made good inroads into Lennox Head territory early and looked to be the dominant pack, but the loss of 3 players from their scrum in the first 30 minutes made things very difficult. The Bulls lack of depth was exposed from here on in, with 3 out of the 8 forwards already having played in 2 games earlier in the day.
The flashy and clinical backline play of the Trojans saw them put on 7 tries, and although the Casino men tried hard, fatigue and injuries ensured that the scoreline never became close. Casino showed in patches that they can match it with the best in both the backs and forwards, but a lot of hard work is still required in order to become more consistent with these efforts. The competition now has a 2 week bye for all teams, and comes not a moment too soon for an injury riddled casino forward pack. At present the Bulls have 4 first grade forwards on the injury list, and the next 2 weeks should hopefully see some of these players fully healed and ready to go, as the Bulls lie in fourth position on the log. Points in first grade went to Craig Connolly with 3, Luke Serone 2 and Carl Tahatu 1.
Reserve Grade’s woes continued with a 63-0 defeat at the hands of the Tojans. The team had poor attendance at training through the week and it showed on Saturday with the embarrassing scoreline. The usual suspects toiled hard all day, with many under 19’s running out for the reservists, playing their second game for the day. Poor defence by Casino was a hallmark of the match, but many of the players gave a courageous effort in a game that was never within reach. Points went to Tim Cameron with 3, Brad Wenzel 2 and Cale Berry 1.
The Under 19 side had an excellent win against the Mullumbimby Moonshiners, 39-13. In what was a great team effort by the young Bulls, some enterprising attack by the backline and some clever kicking made sure that Mullum had no chance of victory on Saturday. The Casino pack monstered their opposition, maintaining a lot of possession which the backs were able to convert into points. Glen Pollard is currently in a rich vein of form and broke the opposition line at will. Pollard gained the 2 points with Michael tucker getting 3 and Lachlan Winkler 1. The young Bulls lie in 5th position with 2 games in hand.
The Bulls now have a 2 week break before returning to Albert Park to face off against the Ballina Seahorses on the 19th of June.
